Machine for treating ramie



- Pat'ented Nov. I, 1898.- 0. J. DEAR. MACHINE FOR TREATING RAMIE, 8L0.

(Application filed Nov. 15, 1897.)

(N0 Model.)

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Patented Hm). I c. .1. DEAR.

MACHINE FOR TREATING RAMIE. 8w.

Application filed Nov. 15. 1897.)

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(No Model.)

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Nu. 6l3,622. Patented Nov. I898.

C. J. DEAR.

MACHINE FOR TREATING RAMIE, 8w.

(Application filed Nov. 15, 1897.)

(.No Model.) 3 Sheets'8heet-3.

I Snow r 601 Witmcooeo v 6 4 Z I W cum @1 S CHARLES JAMES DEAR,

ATENT Price,

OF LONDON, ENGLAND.

MACHINE FOR TREATING RAMlE, 84.0.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 613,622, dated November 1, 1898.

Application filed November 15, 1897. Serial No. 658,686. (No model.)

To all whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES J AMES DEAR, a subject of the Queen of Great Britain, residing at Westminster,London,England,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Machines for the Breaking, Scutching, Decorticating, and Like Treatment of Ramie and'other Fibrous Plants; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to an improved machine the object of which is the decortication of ramie and other fibrous plants. The reduction of weight, the simplicity, and the lack of liability to clog render it capable of being worked with efficiency. In my machine the decortication of the stems is effected as follows: I first pass the material through a pair of bladed rollers, the object of which is to break the wood or pellicle. The said rollers are formed of a number of either squareedged or rounded blades set aroundthe circumference of a pair of disks, which disks are provided with shafts to facilitate driving. Thence the material is carried to a pair of ordinary fluted gripping-rollers of any suitable form. The said rollers traveling at a greater speed than the aforementioned bladed roller has the effect of drawing the material through the blades of the first pair of rollers, and by that means loosens the already-broken wood or pellicle and crushes same, the bladed rollers being so set that the retention is not too great to prevent the fiber being drawn through, as before explained. These crushing-rollers will travel at a less speed than the scutching-drum, to which the material is next presented over a breaking-anvil and which has for its object the complete removal or scutching out of the already crushed and loosened wood or pellicle. It now only remains to cleanse the fiber of its outer covering or bark, and to effect this it is carried over a roller carrying a belt, which removes a portion of the bark and afterward carries the fiber for a certain distance around the circumference of the scutching-drum. This belt, which may be of any suitable form or material, will travel at a less or greater speed than the drum and by the friction produced will effectually remove the remaining bark and at the same time Separate the fibers. As the fiber leaves the machine it falls onto a traveling table or wire and is thus carried away.

Having now explained the essential working parts, I will proceed to describe the mode of operation.

The stalks are presented by hand or otherwise through an ordinary feeding-trough to the first pair of bottomless bladed breakingrollers, and from thence is carried to the crushing or retaining rollers, which in their turn pass it to the scutcher, which thoroughly cleanses it of the wood or pellicle. The fiber is then carried onto the roller carrying the band and then around an arc of the circum ference of the aforementioned scutching= drum by a high or low speed traveling band and the friction caused by the same. The fibers being held by the retaining-rollers effectually separates and debarks the fiber,com= pleting the decortication and presenting the fiber in an undamaged form suitable for do gumming.

By means of my machine I decorticate the fiber for its entire length and remove both the pith and the bark without a reverse motion of either the machine or the fiber being necessary.

I may, if desired, set the anvil-plate to any desired angle with the bed by means of a screw-thread or other suitable device. A carrier-band is also fixed under the drum to facilitate the delivery of the fiber.

I will nowproceed to describe the machine in reference to the accompanying drawings.

Figure I, Sheet 1, is a side elevation of the machine; Fig. II, Sheet 1, a front elevation of the machine; Fig. III, Sheet 2, a sectional di agram elevation of the working parts; Fig. IV, Sheet 3, a part section of bladed scutching-drum; Fig. V, Sheet 3, a section of fluted gripping-rollers; Fig. VI, Sheet 3, a part section of bladed breaking-rollers; Fig. VII, Sheet 3, a view showing arrangement of hightoothed gearing for driving-rollers; Fig. VIII, Sheet 3, a view showing arrangement of spring adjustment for rollers; Fig. IX, Sheet 8, a View showing arrangement and part section of quadrant adjustment for band-rollers. Fig. X represents a fragmentary detail cross- ICO sectional View of the detachable bearing shown in Fig. IX.

Referring to Sheet 1, A,Figs. I and II, shows sliding bed-plate carrying the standards for the gripping and breaking rollers; also anvilplate and feeder. This is constructed on the lathe-bed principle to slide backward or forward at will and regulated by means of clamping-bolts or other suitable means. B and B, Figs. I and II, are the bladed breaking-rollers, which are constructed by means of setting blades longitudinally around the circumference of two disks, which disks are provided with spindles for driving; C and C, Figs. I and II, ordinary fluted gripping-rollers provided with spindles for driving. Both sets of these said rollers are carried in standards with adjustable spring-bearings E and F, Figs. I and II. D, Fig. I, is an anvil-plate curved to correspond with the arc of the beater-drum, the edges of which may be rounded or otherwise constructed on bedplate A and adjustable, as hereinafter described with Sheet 2. G, Figs. I and II, is the feeder. II, Figs. I and II, is the bladed scutching-drum, constructed of any material and provided with blades at intervals around the circumference longitudinally, diagonally, or both, set at any desired angle, the drum to be provided with a spindle for driving. I and I, Figs. I and II, are the band-rol1ers, I to be set in a suitable adjustable spring-bearing L, constructed or built up on the frame of the machine, and I in a fixed quadrantadjustable bearing K, also built up or constructed in the frame of the machine, (hereinafter described more fully in connection with Sheet 3;) J, Fig. I, the scraping-band, running in the same direction as the drum over rollers I and I and of any suitable material; M, the side plates or frame for carrying the machine, which may be of any form or design, according to the nature of the foundation to which one may desire to fix it; N, the carrier-band, running under the drum to collect the fiber. This may be of canvas, wire mesh, or other suitable material. 0 is a plain delivery-roller set in an adjustable spring-bearing pressing on roller I, which has for its object the straighter and better delivery of the fiber onto the carrier-band N. It may be made of wood or rubber covered, or of any suitable material.

Referring to Sheet 2, which shows more fully and on an enlarged scale the general construction, working, and driving of the machine, A is the sliding bed-plate; B and B, the breaking-rollers; G and O, the grippingrollers; D, the anvil-plate II, the scutchingdrum; I and I, band-rollers; J the band; 0, the delivery-roller; P, the screw-thread'adjustment for anvil-plate. This screw adj ustment has for its object the alteration of the angle or curve of the anvil-plate at will. It will be understood that it may be desirable to treat a coarse fiber, in which case the anvilplate need not be set so close to the drumas when treating a fine fiber, and by means of the adj ustment the distance of the anvil-plate from the drum can be regulated to any degree. The screw-threaded stud is simply carried on a beater-plate passing across the machine and fixed to the side plates M, with a boss in the center threaded to take the said screw-threaded stud, the other end of the stud being plain, which runs in a corresponding boss made to take it in the back of the anvil-plate. The stud is also provided with a lockingnut to fix in position when the right distance for setting has been arrived at. It will be seen that all that is necessary to alter the angle or curve, and consequently the distance from or to the drum, is to screw the stud either to the left or right, as may be desired. The driving of the machine is effected by means of a belt Q, either running direct from the engine or from a countershaft onto apulley Q on spindle of scutchingdrum H. From thence slack chain belts R and S are run from two sprockets R and S also on spindle of drum H and preferably on same side as pulley, to corresponding sprockets R and S onthe spindles of rollers C and B, respectively. On the other side of drum II is fixed another sprocket T with a belt T running tight onto a sprocket T, fixed on spindle of I. The carrier-band N will be driven direct. It will be understood that by the use of slack chains the rollers O and B can be set back with the bed-plate A to any desired distance, thus decreasing or increasing the distance between the anvil or beater plate and the drum, according to the fiber to be treated. The speeds are as follows: Taking the speed of the breaking-rollers B to be, say, fifty revolutions per minute, the speed of the gripping-rollers would have to be fastersay sixty per minute-and the drum again much faster-say five hundred per minute. It will thus be seen that whatever may be passing through the machine will be subject throughout its progress to a slight drawing action, as well as the scraping action effected by the drum. The speeds of the band J and the carrier N will be relatively faster or slower than the speed of the drum, according to the class of material it is desired to treat. The speeds can be easily and readily regulated as may be desired by substituting either larger or smaller pulleys,according to whether it is desired to raise or lower the speed, in the usual way.

Referring to Sheet 3, which shows in detail the different parts of the machine, Fig. IV is part section of scutching-drum II, showing manner of construction; Fig. V, section construction of one of the gripping-rollers G and C; Fig. VI, part section of one of the breaking-rollers B and B, showing arrangement of blades and general construction. Fig. VII shows means of driving all the rollers by hightoothed gearing-via, spurwheels 1;, co11- structed with high teeth Z), so as not to run out of gear when any irregularity of material may be passing through the rollers; FigVIII, enlarged view of adjustable spring-bearings F and E, which are constructed as follows: The top rollers O are run in loose bearings f and are kept down to the work by means of spiral springs f, which bear on the bearings, and the pressure is regulated by means of a screw and hand-wheelf which when screwed down or up either increases or decreases the pressure. It will be seen that by this means any great irregularity of material passing through the machine will lift the rollers and not clog it. This description of bearing is used in connection with rollers O and B and I and 0. Fig. IX, an enlarged fragmentary detail view, shows the adjustable bearing for carrying the roller 1, in which K represents a curved slot in the side of the machine, and k narrow slots parallel to the slot K and one on each side thereof, leaving the intervening portionJc of the frame between the broad and narrow slots. The shaft of the roller 1 is journaled in the bearing-plates K, through which pass the bolts k. These bolts k extend through the slots k and thus act to clamp the bearing-plate K to the frame at various points along the arc of the slots. It will be seen that by the use of this bearing the scraping-band J may be made to bear on the drum for any desired arc of its diameter.

Having now described the working parts and the general arrangements of the said machine, I will proceed to describethe mode of operation and in so doing will take'the Sheet No. 2, as being the most illustrative, to show the passage of the material through the machine.

The sticks or leaves or whatever it is desired to treat are presented to the breaking-rollers B and B over the bed-plate A and through feeder G. It is at once caught up by the said rollers, and in passing through them the wood or pellicle is broken and alarge quantity falls away. The remaining sticks or leaves are next taken by the gripping-rollers O and O, which in their turn have the double effect of crushing the remaining wood and, traveling as they do at a higher rate of speed than the aforementioned rollers B and B, of drawing the fiber through the said breaking-rollers, care being taken that they are not set too tightly. This drawing action has the effect of still further cleaning and scraping the fiber. Passing on through the crushing-rollers O and O, the fiber, which is now reduced to absolute uniformity of thickness, is presented over the anvil-plate D to the scutching-drum H, where, being held by the gripping-rollers O and G, which move much slower than the drum, it is beaten and thoroughly cleansed of the remaining wood and pellicle and also a great portion of the bark. This drum, traveling at a very high rate of speed, throws all the waste away from the machine and directs the fiber for a certain distance around its circumference, where it is effectually cleansed of any remaining bark by the friction of the scraping-band J and passed between the rollers I and O, which prevent tangling on the carrier band N, and is delivered at any desired distance in a clean and perfectly-decorticated ribbon. The arrows denote the direction of the passage of the fiber through the machine.

Having particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I claim is- 1. In a breaking, scutching and decorti= eating machine, the combination of intermeshing open-bladed rollers, intermeshing fluted gripping-rollers driven at ahigher speed than the first-named rollers, a toothed decorti eating-drum driven at a still higher speed, an adjustable anvil and a traveling endless apron mounted in adjustable bearings and located in proximity to said drum, and holding the material under treatment in contact with said drum, substantially as described.

2. In a breaking, scutching and decortieating machine, the combination of openbladed breaking-rollers mounted in yielding bearings, fluted gripping-rollers mounted in yielding bearings, a toothed decorticating drum and traveling endless apron and rollers carrying the same mounted in adjustable bearings, one of said bearings being also yielding, and means for driving the rollers,-

drum and apron, said means being so pro' portioned that the gripping-rollers are driven faster than the breaking-rollers and the drum faster than the gripping=rollers and the endless apron at a different rate of speed from that of the drum, substantially as described.

Dated this 4th day of October, 1897.

oHAaLEs JAMES DEAR.-

Witnesses:

FREDERICK G. PATERNOSTER, WILLIAM H. SOUTH. 

